Neanderthals and the Garden of Eden

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

NOT IN NOVEL: EXCERPTS FROM DR SINGER’S STOCKHOLM & SAN DIEGO SPEECHES

The following are excerpts from Dr Arnold Singer’s lecture given in San Diego at the convention center for the Association of Scientists and Educators and his lecture presented for the Nobel Prize, Stockholm.

San Diego: Can you imagine a world in which men ran with wolves? A world so rich in game and plants, fighting over them would seem ridiculous. This world existed here on earth for hundreds of thousands of years. Paradise my friends. No. No. Don’t get me wrong. Life was hard, but what is life without honor? without love? without peace?

. . . Although there is sparse evidence to support the idea of loose or tight packs of wolves with humans, the logic is irrefutable. Domestication or restrained use of dog-wolves occurred thirteen to seventeen-thousand years ago. However, dog mitochondrial DNA traces back to various points on the globe from 40 to 135 thousand years. In order to effect DNA change at lets say the 100 thousand year mark, something had to be going on before then. There is a bit of evidence to show wolf associations with man five to seven hundred thousand years ago at Boxgrove in Kent England, Zhoukoudian China, etc. And, there is now the Twin Peaks discovery.

I am suggesting, as do others, man and wolf stood for and with each other in complete freedom and dynamic equality. These two hunters must have had an incredible relationship, perhaps impossible to duplicate today. There is one main reason why. Man has changed.

The theory of co-evolving species offers the best fit for, the albeit, sparse data. A great present-day example of co-evolving takes us to England, once again. It seems the shy foxes are packing their bags and moving into the backyards of London. . . . In Russia, they have been breeding foxes for docility and the results are outrageous. These sometimes blue-eyed motley-colored playful canids are a remarkable sight.

Another factor influencing co-evolvement is the ice age environment. Competition would diminish between wolf packs if game were plentiful and territories large enough. The packs would sometimes co-operate with related packs. The breeding dictum of only alpha male and female having pups would also be relaxed. Wolves may have always been tolerant of human packs. Wolves and American Indians respected each other on hunts. It was good business! When two hunters fight, one dies. . . .

The doctor responded graciously to a multitude of questions, some off point.

A: In an effort to honor and advance our charter, I have recorded the story I told the seniors this morning. The handout is a quick voice to printed word document.

A: The mitochondrial DNA of all living humans goes back at least one hundred thousand years to one woman in Africa. Whether the main protagonist of the story is Eve or a very great granddaughter, is open. Please understand the Eve I refer to is not necessarily the Eve of the Bible or any other creation story. . . .

A: I’m not a romantic sap. The story was meant to keep the seniors awake, involved. I am however guilty of loving Eve, the concept of Eve. Who wouldn’t be?

Stockholm (summary and highlights): Early Homo sapiens ventured north of Africa and along the east Mediterranean around 100,000 years ago. They lived with Neanderthals. Both groups’ brains were 8 to 13 percent larger than ours, on average. Perhaps this was because of their need to memorize all plant uses, animal behaviors, language, legends & legacies, and problem solve life and death issues on a daily basis. Later mutations for modern man may have compensated. Even late Homo erectus found in Java, fell only 50 cc short of modern man in brain size. I differ here with most of you regarding the Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens brains. Simply put, I believe we are missing something.

San Diego: After the talk, I would like table #1 to discuss the similarities and differences between the decrease in brain size for humans and dogs. I promise you, it will be the liveliest table, especially with Nigel there.

Recent archeological finds off the east coast of the Mediterranean and off the coast of South Africa, especially Blombos and Borders caves, fueled this morning’s story. Tool kits, weapons (for instance, pressure-flaked, thin sharp triangular stones for lance tips?), small gardens, fishing techniques, and boats, have all been validated at these sites. More research centered on the speculative study of ancient cultural beliefs, is partially my submission to you and the students.

Stockholm: Homo sapiens and Neanderthals did not achieve much more than survival, because their environment, although pure, was often hostile and their numbers were few, especially north. The entire earth’s population of humans was estimated to never exceed five million, until the advent of organized farming 85,000 after my story. This comprises the size of one typical city population spread across the world. Bottlenecks or catastrophes also occurred at various times, lowering the total population to the tens of thousands. The Neanderthal portion of the population was estimated to be no more than 375,000 (to 5 million humans overall) at its height, partially covering the northern half of the world . . .

These northern populations were cut off from their southern cousins for hundreds of thousands of years, thanks to the advances and declines of the ice ages and man’s penchant for southern lands and seacoasts. Some of us have suggested, wolf associations contributed to saving the entire northern human population from failure—again I refer you to the later cave drawings, only depicting wolves with humans hunting, whereas the artists had no trouble with cave lions from afar. My point, wolves didn’t just hunt at night or alone, perhaps they were revered and/or sitting next to the artist. Better get it right. . . . There has been only one human and wolf family burial discovered during the Pleistocene at approximately 50,000 years. . . . So far, diggers, dig in.

Thousands of years later when climate and other disasters or diseases may have cut the numbers of Neanderthals and Homo sapiens in the northern hemisphere, only the Homo sapiens could replace their numbers through migrations from Africa and elsewhere. Neanderthals were assimilated by Homo sapiens, borne out by the latest DNA findings.

Migrations were sometimes made easier by the lower sea levels, as we all know. This allowed land bridges that don’t exist today. At the time of the story, the sea level was approximately forty to seventy meters below today’s levels. The peak glacial periods achieved sea levels one hundred and thirty meters lower than today. Digers, dig underwater at the coasts of the Mediterranean for a few missed settlements.

. . . Here, I’ll definitely defer to my esteemed colleagues. For the record, the later migrations ofCro-Magnon into Europe may have been a mixture of migrations from Africa and movements away from European coasts now submerged. There is no evidence of Cro-Magnon fleeing the coasts. Entering Europe due to coastal flooding or settling from Africa would encourage diversification away from fishing, and lead to increased trade with the already diversified Neanderthal. Diggers?

Two misconceptions that irk me: Although migrations from Africa were of dark skinned people, Cro-Magnons are often pictured in schoolbooks and just about everywhere else as white. It takes 20,000 years for a black man to turn into a white man and visa versa. Let’s improve our accuracy and honor our African heritage. . . . Secondly, it should be obvious to everyone now with the recent discoveries that Neanderthals spoke without problem and I say the same was true for Homo erectus our common ancestor. These fat heads we have are primarily there for language, cause we sure don’t use them for thinking—much.

San Diego: I wish to thank Dr Nigel Locksley for our partnership. Next week’s release on the DNA samples was his baby. I was happy to see the Nobel Committee recommendations regarding my indefatigable sidekick.

Post publication: Appreciation goes to Dr Judit Poltari for her incredible digs in the parking lot south of the football that is soccer stadium and north of the river fork. How she retained permissions from the authorities is a story in and of itself. Her finds thus far, a pair of obsidian long knives left in a hybrid’s grave, more than justifies her efforts. As you may know by now, they paved paradise and put up a parking lot.

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Grew up in Cherry Hill (Downs Farm) New Jersey. Married, 2 kids, 2 grandkids, chess master, author (5 novels, 1st one named NEANDERTHALS AND THE GARDEN OF EDEN (indie published), the other four seeking professional representation, 1 novella (indie published) & various short stories, MBA and BS (Physics) from St. Joseph's in Philly. Was lifeguard and champion swimmer. Started in engineering and then management. Own WEB Press, indie publisher. Email me direct at rwrichard@ymail.com.